MPI, Meeting Professionals International, is the largest meeting and event planning professional association in the US. Members include administrative assistants, meeting planners, event organizers, and hotel and venue vendors. As the role of administrative assistants increase, the general progression of job duties begin to include event planning roles. Event planning is a real profession, but many admins seek validation from organizations such as MPI to convince their bosses they are bringing value to the company.But, the real question is whether or not MPI will give you the best value for your money.

The current annual membership for MPI is $375 and that doesn’t include access to the hundreds of events held every month across the nation. Each additional event will range from $15 to $775 for conference registration. Having been a member of MPI for a number of years, as a student and professional, and as an event planner and vendor, I can tell you that there are better ways to learn about event planning and validate your skills. Don’t get me wrong, if your company is willing to pay for your MPI membership, and you are a power networker, you may find MPI to be of great value for you. But, if you want to learn the basic meeting management skills, look no further than your local community college or state university. With the meeting and event industry booming, many colleges are creating professional development programs that teach the art and science of meeting planning.

If you are considering joining MPI I suggest attending 3 - 4 events and see how you like it. It’s worth the extra $10 or $20 for the non-member fee to see if the program fits your needs.

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